Police: Fourth vehicle involved in trooper's fatal crash

Wednesday

A fourth vehicle was involved in the Oct. 28 crash near Illiopolis that took the life of an Illinois state trooper, although it didn’t strike his squad car.

A fourth vehicle was involved in the Oct. 28 crash near Illiopolis that took the life of an Illinois state trooper, although it didn’t strike his squad car.

Trooper Brian McMillen’s vehicle was struck by cars driven by two other men, Justin L. Taylor, 22, and Shai-Tan Cook, 26, both of Decatur, as McMillen, 24, headed toward a rural tavern to aid Sangamon County deputies in a disturbance call.

The crash occurred on Dye Road just south of Interstate 72 about 2:50 a.m.

Both Taylor and Cook face a variety of charges, including aggravated driving under the influence.

Timothy Hansen, special agent with the Illinois State Police, testified at a Sangamon County coroner’s inquest Tuesday that the fourth car was close enough to the impact to suffer paint damage. He said the driver — also a Decatur man who had been at JD’s Lounge — veered to the right and into the ditch when the collision occurred. He then drove away, Hansen said.

The man’s involvement became known the next day when he reported the damage to his car to his insurance company.

Although the man had some first-aid training, Hansen said, he did not help any of the injured before leaving. He has not been charged with any crime, although Hansen said that remains a possibility.

Hansen also said that Taylor, who drove the first car that struck McMillen’s squad car, told police that another car collided with McMillen’s vehicle before his did. Police say the trooper’s car was spun around by the impact with Taylor’s car, then was struck broadside by a car driven by Cook.

Hanson said investigators have found no evidence to support Taylor’s version of events, and in fact have ruled out the possibility of a car in front of Taylor’s striking the trooper’s vehicle.

The coroner’s jury ruled McMillen’s death a reckless homicide.

McMillen was southbound about a mile from JD’s Lounge when Taylor’s northbound car struck the front right corner of the squad car. Taylor had veered into the southbound lane, police said. As McMillen’s squad car spun sideways into the northbound lane, it was struck on the driver’s side by a 1999 Chrysler Concorde driven by Cook. McMillen died from injuries suffered in the second crash.

Hansen said a blood specimen taken a couple of hours after the crash showed Taylor’s blood alcohol concentration at 0.164 percent, twice the legal driving limit.

Cook’s BAC registered 0.115 shortly after he was taken to the hospital, Hansen said. The “club drugs” MDMA, commonly known as Ecstasy, and ketamine, a veterinary tranquilizer known as “special K,” also were found in his system.

Hansen said authorities have interviewed 45 witnesses ranging from emergency providers and people at the scene to recipients of cell phone calls made by people who were there.

The roadway where the crash occurred has a center divider line and white sideline stripes, he said. He called it “level, clear and free of obstructions.”

“For whatever reason, they (Taylor and Cook) were unable to apply the same common sense and get out of the way that others were able to,” Hansen said.

He said Taylor has an April 2007 DUI from Macon County and that Cook had neither valid driver’s license nor insurance when the accident occurred. Evidence shows that neither Taylor nor Cook took evasive action in the moments before they struck the squad car, although there was evidence of straight-line braking by Cook’s vehicle, he said.

Both men told investigators they were leaving the tavern because of the disturbance.

“They said they didn’t want to get Maced by security, shot by other bar patrons or arrested by the police,” Hansen said.

He described the bar, which has since lost its liquor license, as a place frequented almost solely by people from Decatur and Macon County who arrived after Decatur taverns closed at 1 a.m.

“They made most of their money in the hour or so between 1:30 a.m. and closing,” Hansen said. JD’s license allowed it to remain open until 3 a.m.

After 3 a.m., Hansen said, patrons frequently would stay in the tavern parking lot until sunrise or would travel back to Decatur and move from parking lot to parking lot there.

He said both Taylor and Cook told investigators they saw the squad car and that it had its flashing lights activated. But they also said they weren’t aware of the trooper’s car until it was close to them.

Hansen said someone should have seen the flashing lights from a half-mile away given the conditions on Oct. 28.

He said accident reconstruction hasn’t been completed and the speeds of the trooper’s squad car and the other vehicles involved haven’t been determined as yet. But based on what he currently knows, Hansen said, he doesn’t consider speed to be a factor in the accident.

At least one witness told police Taylor was following a car carrying three women from the bar and had been weaving in and out of his lane “playing” with the other car shortly before the crash, Hansen said.

An open container of alcohol and a small amount of marijuana were recovered from Taylor’s vehicle, he said.

Cook is charged with seven counts of aggravated driving under the influence and four lesser offenses, including failure to yield to an emergency vehicle. He is in Sangamon County custody on $1 million bond.

Cook was sentenced to seven years in prison on a Macon County drug conviction and was held in prison on a parole violation from the time he was released from the hospital until Tuesday.

Taylor is charged with aggravated driving under the influence, reckless homicide and failure to yield to an emergency vehicle. His bond also is $1 million.

Chris Dettro can be reached at (217) 788-1510 or chris.dettro@sj-r.com.

Never miss a story

Choose the plan that's right for you.
Digital access or digital and print delivery.